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Mr. Dykes has assigned you to do a research paper on the life of either Martin Luther King, Jr. or Malcolm X using the Big 6 information literacy model. This web page is to assist you in completing this assignment by providing you a step-by-step guide through the research process. Understanding the research process is one of the most important concepts you will need to be successful in college. 90% of all college freshmen who flunk out of school do so because they do not know how to do research. At first, it is very difficult to understand the research steps and how they all fit together to complete a project, but as you use them and gain competence in the process, the better you will become at understanding what is required to put together a good research paper. With practice you will be completing the steps without even thinking about the process. That is when you will have gained mastery in the ability to do research. Use the menu below to navigate this page:
Whenever you start a research or classroom project it is important to plan how you want to accomplish your mission. There are many ways to achieve your goal of an A+ project, but there are also a lot of obstacles in your path. Knowing how to find and evaluate information is a valuable skill and is an essential part of the research process. The skill is called Information Literacy. At Westminster High School we recommend the Big 6 and COWS information literacy models for student research. If you make a habit of following these methods, you will successfully navigate reference books, books and non-text material, and not be fooled by false information or overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge available on the Internet.
Use the Big 6 Assignment Organizer© (1999) to help you complete your assignment. It uses the Big 6 format. Follow the directions given in the organizer and by Mr. Dykes. You can type directly on the organizer and then download the information to a disc or print it out. There is a section for each of the six steps of research. Step #1: Task Definition A good way to get started. What does your teacher want you to do? Make sure you understand the requirements of the assignment. In order to define your task you must form your task around an essential question. Once you have formed your essential question you must decide what information you think you will need to support that question. You do this with supporting questions. To learn more about supporting question look at "What kinds of questions did you ask today?" Remember there are several types or levels of supporting questions: Memory questions (Level 1), Convergent Thinking questions (Level 2), Divergent Thinking questions (Level 3), and Evaluative questions (Level 4).There is a worksheet you can print out to help you form your questions. Make sure your supporting questions use more that one type or level of question!
Step #2: Information Seeking Strategies This means that you need to make a list of all the possible sources of information that will help you answer the questions you wrote in Task Definition above. AND: Step #3: Location & Access Figure out where you will get these sources. Beside each source, write its location. If it is a web site, list its web address. Try to use those that your teacher or librarian have linked or bookmarked. This will save you time. If your source is a person, figure out how you will contact him or her and make a note of this. For Step #2 and Step #3 you should use the COWS information literacy model. COWS is an acronym to help you remember the ORDER you should look for information.
And if all else fails:
Lets look at each of these and how you can find and use them for your research. C =
Remember: When doing research you need to look at the second Some of the Reference Books you could use are: Hints!
Use these resources every day! Our online resources are: and These are password protected databases that you can access 24/7 from school or home. Get the URLs, usernames, and passwords from your librarian. They work like a search engine but contain information that is not available for free on the World wide Web. College students use similar databases for their research projects. The Gale Group resources has five different databases: Student Resource Center-Gold (Use this Resource First!!), Student Resource Center-Health Module, Student Edition, Opposing Viewpoints, and Virtual Library. The SRC-Gold, Student Edition, Virtual Library and Encyclopædia Britannica Online will be best databases to use for this project. If you need help in getting the most out of these resources, check the "Search Tips" for each.
A webliography is similar to a bibliography only it's on the web. This is the Webliography selected by your teacher or Mrs. Bowen to assist you with your project. Academy of Achievement: Interview: Rosa Parks: African American Odyssey: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aointro.html African American World: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/ Afro-American Almanac: http://www.toptags.com/aama/ American Literature: Writing Black: (names listed in alphabetical order,e.g. X, Malcolm) The Caldwell Journals: The Civil Rights Era: The Civil Rights Museum: http://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/ Encyclopedia Britannica's Guide to Black History: Civil Rights Movement: Greensboro Sit-ins: Launch of a Civil Rights Movement: Islam in America: From African Slaves to Malcolm X: Little Rock Central High: 40th Anniversary: Malcolm X: http://www.cmgww.com/historic/malcolm/index.htm The Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Educational Institute: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People: (search by name) Powerful Days in Black and White: http://www.kodak.com/US/en/corp/features/moore/mooreIndex.shtml The Seattle Times: Martin Luther King, Jr. & The Civil Rights Movement: We Shall Overcome: Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movement:
and if all else fails --
Once you have learned about your subject by visiting all of the books, online programs, and web sites recommended by Mrs. Bowen and Mr. Dykes, and you still need more information it is time to search the web. BEWARE! Search engines are not all created equal and you need to learn what types of information each will provide and how that information is presented. Take a few minutes and check out the links listed below. You will also need to know about the "invisible web" and how to access its information. How to Find a Specialized Search Engine for Your Topic If you use a search engine to find material you must always evaluate the site you wish to use. To help you in evaluating your site use the Web Site evaluation Guide.
Step #4: Use of Information Engage the source (read it, listen to it, view it, touch it!) and take out the relevant information. If you can't understand any of it, be sure to ask Mr. Dykes to help you. It's OK not to understand, it's not OK not to ask for help. Make sure that you check out "Ideas About Note Taking and Citing Sources" from the Use of Information page.
Step #5: Systhesis You will need to:
To help you in writing your paper you may want to use the "Writing Process Organizer for Grades 7-12." Unfortunitely, this page will not allow you type on it, but you can print it out and use it as a guide for your paper. Step #6: Evaluation To evaluate your product you will need to:
Here are some additional pages and sites to help you put your paper together and evaluate your product. Style Guides Copyright Information The Big 6 Rubric Editing Checklist Research Project Final Evaluation Form
Good Luck On your Research! |
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